


The Science of Caffeine

by AceKnitter



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Carlos isn't a scientist yet, Coffee Shops, M/M, Stalking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-27
Updated: 2014-03-27
Packaged: 2018-01-17 06:39:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1377580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceKnitter/pseuds/AceKnitter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carlos frequents a certain coffee shop for the atmosphere and the good coffee. He certainly doesn't go there for the strange man that stares at him from a distance. But Cecil won't leave until he can figure out just what makes Carlos so frustratingly perfect in every way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Science of Caffeine

**Author's Note:**

> Hooray for first fanfics! *confetti sparkles*
> 
> Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment!

Carlos sighed as he finished his coffee. It was raining outside, and the drops made little trails on the glass window of the cafe. Carlos frequented this cafe often, as the coffee was good and the atmosphere was the perfect sort of organized chaos that Carlos enjoyed working in. However, now that he was finished with his latest assignment, he had to deal with the problem that appeared a month ago and seemed to have no intention of leaving. It was a man. A man who, without fail, would take a seat a few feet away from him and do nothing but stare at Carlos.

The man was very normal and unassuming, and at the same time was the oddest man in the room. He wasn't very tall and he wasn't very short. He wasn't very fat and he wasn't very thin. In fact, if you only paid attention to his appearance, the only thing that seemed to stand out was the fact that his hair was a bright shade of white. He wore conservative attire in boring shades of gray or brown, as well as a purple sweater vest each day.

It wasn't his appearance that made him odd. The man simply acted in a very peculiar way. When someone left a piece of red paper anywhere in the cafe, the man would stay as far away from the paper as possible, sometimes even grabbing people and dragging them away from the paper as well. If someone wearing a hoodie sat nearby, he would take a break to check under the hood, only to be disappointed with whoever was underneath. Whenever the man picked up a call on his phone, his voice was much deeper and somber than the few times he spoke in the shop, like he deeply regretted answering but couldn't ignore the call. And weirdest of all, Carlos swore that he sometimes saw the man glow a bright shade of purple. This would only last a few seconds, though, leaving Carlos staring at his coffee and wondering if someone had drugged him.

Typically, Carlos would leave the man alone, not wanting to get caught up in this crazy stalker's antics. However, today the man seemed to be bolder with his actions, as he was now seated at the same table as Carlos, right across from the soon-to-be scientist. If they were any closer, their knees would be touching. Unable to continue avoiding the inevitable, Carlos looked up, straight into the man's eyes. The man blinked, obviously not expecting to be acknowledged by the man he was stalking.

For a few seconds, neither of them moved, drinking in the other's appearance, only in more detail than before. Carlos wondered if he should be saying something, but everything his mind offered sounded rude and passive aggressive. And while the stalker was somewhat unnerving, he hadn't done anything that bad.

"Hi."

Carlos blinked. He wasn't really expecting the man to speak first. Then again, 'hi' isn't really a conversation starter. Just a greeting. "Hi."

"What's your name?"

"Carlos. What's yours?" Carlos knew better than to give his last name. First names are harmless, but last names lead to horrifying 'presents' in your mailbox. Carlos wasn't going through _that_ ever again.

"Cecil. Cecil Gershwin Palmer."

 _Obviously, this man hasn't dealt with weirdos before_ , Carlos thought. Nonetheless, he allowed himself to relax a little. Surely someone so willing to hand out information wouldn't be hiding anything. "So," he said, "What brings you here?"

The man- Cecil- thought about the question for a moment. "That depends," he replied, "Where exactly is 'here'?"

Carlos shrugged. "The city, the coffee shop if you want to be more specific, at this time."

Cecil thought about it again as Carlos checked the time. After a few minutes, he spoke. "I'm here in the city on a business trip of sorts. I'm at this coffee shop for more personal reasons."

Carlos eyed the man curiously. _Personal reasons_ sounded way too fishy, and every inch of Carlos told him to leave while he still could. Still, he managed to stay in his seat. "And those 'personal reasons' are...?"

Cecil took a deep breath. "I've never met a perfect individual in all my life." He leaned in slightly and searched Carlos' face, "So I'm trying to figure out how and why you're perfect in every way, because honestly, it's the strangest and most frustrating thing I've ever seen."


End file.
